I'm working on a slideshow project. I have all my images on track 1. I have two audio objects, butted up to one another on track 4.
When I reduce the "photo" length and "apply to all", the second audio object is moved left and now overlaps the end of the first audio object. Obviously, not what I want; I want the audio objects to stay in place.
I'm in Single Object mouse mode.
Any ideas on this or is it a bug?
Hi Al,
That is how it has always worked, as far as I know. I checked 2015 and 2025.
Don't use change photo length unless moving everything is what you want. If you reduce the length without everything to the right moving back, one or more gaps would show up. So, the program closes the gaps. If it just moved whatever was on the same track to close up the gap(s), what would happen to anything that you had lined up that was on other tracks? Think about it for a bit and you'll understand.
The inconvenience is what you have found and it should be easy for the user to fix, just keep in mind that the program doesn't know how you would like it, so it's up to you.
John CB
Yes, that's it.
I don't follow. It is illogical to me that something I do on one track will affect another track that isn't touching it. I don't want the program to try to guess what I'm doing: The total length of my images is too long to match the audio, so I want to reduce the total image length without changing the audio length.
There are no gaps and "change photo length" shortens each image without creating gaps. Why would it do anything else?
A bit more info, it seems as though the second audio object attaches itself to a particular image and moves back and forth when that image moves using the "Change Photo Length" option.
Hi Al,
Ok, so here is what you were supposed to think about.
Take the case of mixed photos and video clips on track 1 (audio on track 2), some overlays on track 3, some text on track 4, and a few audio files on track 5. The overlay is supposed to be for photos 10, 15 and 20. The text goes with photos 21, video 3 and photo 25. Audio file 2 is set to start with a particular photo or video. Now you reduce (or increase) the length of some photos. You want only objects on track 1 to move. If that happened, your overlays and text would no longer be at the right place and audio 2 would start at the wrong place, as would audio 3. Not only that, you had images/videos cut to the beat of your audio - gone. You would have a real mess.
So, part of your workflow should be to keep this in mind.
If you really need to do this without upsetting anything on other tracks and can't live with just fixing up that overlap, you have the fantastic multiple Movie feature that you can use. Simply move everything that is not on the track to be affected to another Movie, make your adjustment, move everything back.
John CB
You want only objects on track 1 to move. If that happened, your overlays and text would no longer be at the right place and audio 2 would start at the wrong place, as would audio 3. Not only that, you had images/videos cut to the beat of your audio - gone.
Yep, but that is what I would expect, by using Single mouse mode it is my decision to limit actions to that one chosen track.
John, with respect, you're off on a tangent. I have a very simple setup. There's nothing to line up. I'm in single object mouse mode, What I do on track one should have no bearing on any other tracks. Look at Gid's video. I can't think of any reason why the second audio object should move when the object length of the images is changed.
It getting even more weird. Locking the audio track stops the second audio object being moved, but the images are shortened in-place; a gap is created between each.
Some more: if I manually change the length of an image by dragging, the audio stays put. If I change the image length using the box on the right end of the timeline, the second audio object moves.
In fact I'd ask why in Single mouse mode does it auto close gaps when the picture length is changed.
Gid, yes, that did cross my mind too. I assume that it is by-design: if the user chooses "change photo length" and "apply to all", the program assumes you want to keep the images together regardless of mouse modes.
I agree with you both, but only partly. We are in the 1% who can figure out the mouse modes and how to use them. The other 99% of the users will make a big mess, as I have described. It is far better to only have to adjust a couple of things than having to rework possibly hundreds of objects.
However, on the subject of mouse modes, if they were to be applicable, would single mouse mode leave a gap, and mouse mode for a single track would move everything on that track to close up the gap? Would the 99% figure it out or would we and Magix be getting a lot of complaints about gaps?
Al, not a tangent. You have a simple project but one can't have 1 set of rules for a simple project and another one for a complex project.
I can't think of any reason why the second audio object should move when the object length of the images is changed.
I can. My second audio file is supposed to start with a particular image/video. If that image/video on track 1 moves, my audio/narration, text, and overlays had better move by the same amount, or I would be very unhappy.
As I indicated, if the only problem is 1 audio file overlapping, then there really is no problem. Just move it. But, if it is supposed to start with an image change, then you have some editing to do no matter what.
It getting even more weird. Locking the audio track stops the second audio object being moved, but the images are shortened in-place; a gap is created between each.
I tried that too, thinking that I could limit the movement. I think that the developers were trying to protect users from themselves or didn't think it through.
As I said at the beginning, it has always been like this.
What would probably be a good new feature would be a couple more selections in the change length interface - like "Close gaps" and "Adjust objects on other tracks" or something like that.
OT but similar and a bit annoying for me, is "Insert still image at the playback marker." This inserts a still image of the default photo duration, and moves everything that is on that track and only that track to the right. I would like everything on all tracks (equal to and to the right of the insert point) to move to the right by the same length. Mouse modes don't work for this either. So, this is an example of the inverse of the above duration problem.
John CB
Some more: if I manually change the length of an image by dragging, the audio stays put. If I change the image length using the box on the right end of the timeline, the second audio object moves.
Al, do you mean the right end of an object? I don't know what the box is at the right end of the timeline.
If you mean an object, there are 2 ways to move the right end. In any mouse mode, drag the right end by the bottom handle and the image duration decreases - nothing else moves.
In single object mouse mode, drag the middle of the right end (mouse changes to double left/right arrows) and the image decreases and the right image follows it, thus increasing its duration. If that object is a trimmed video clip, it will untrim as much as it can.
In single track mouse mode, dragging by the middle of the right end will move the right objects on that track to the left as the selected object decreases (or increases).
Do the same in all tracks mouse mode and everything on all tracks (equal to the split point and all at the right) moves as the duration decreases.
Whew! My head is spinning.
John CB
My second audio file is supposed to start with a particular image/video. If that image/video on track 1 moves, my audio/narration, text, and overlays had better move by the same amount, or I would be very unhappy.
John, I'm not talking about a stretch of a single image, I'm talking about changing the length of every image on track one. How would the program incrementally adjust the position of all the other objects on other, non-touching tracks?
As I indicated, if the only problem is 1 audio file overlapping, then there really is no problem. Just move it.
It's actually more difficult than that. I put a one second black image between the two audio files to lock them together (I wanted a slight gap between) by grouping. This problem ruins that arrangement. The second audio is pushed left into the black image which then disappears.
Greetings Al,
This problem is a pain but I've learned to live with it; avoidng the problem usually putting completing the slideshow then adding the (usually) music audio on afterwards.
As a way round the altering of photo size after the audio has been added, I've found that selecting all the relevent audio then "cut (audio) objects", altering the photo lengths then "paste (audio) objects" back from where they came works.
A simple faff but it's effective.
AndyW
Thanks Andy, the problem in my case is we have two songs that I want to use in their entirety, so I need to have them on the timeline first and then add images, then do the "change photo length" to make them fit.
I'll try your workaround.
Unfortunately, I'm not at my normal 'puter to check but I'm sure I did a 100 image/10 minute slideshow in 2021 with hundreds of timing changes and this didn't rear it's ugly head.
Good to know though that it's not only me that doesn't like it. I'll raise it with Magix.
Hi Al
A simple fix is to lock the audio track, and any other track with objects on it that you do not want the objects to move on, before adjusting the photo length
John EB
John, as I mentioned earlier on, that doesn't work because if you want to shorten the images in-place, creating gaps.
And if I want to increase the length, weirdly the images before the second object are squashed because the fade increases in length instead of the images themselves increasing, but the images after the start of the second audio object are not affected and don't change length. It's as though the edge of the two audio objects is locked to something on track 1 and prevents anything happening to objects after the left edge of the second audio object.
The whole thing appears to be a complete mess (MMS 2025).
@johnebaker Hi, I too tried locking track 4, the audio doesn't move but it does something odd with the close gaps on track 1, it's as if it's impeded somehow by the locking of track 4 .
It's as though the edge of the two audio objects is locked to something on track 1
Yep, It doesn't move the audio if that audio is on track 5 ..? 🤷♂️
Aha! You've found it! How did we miss that?
Magix reserves track 5 for audio and audio fx. Track 5 behaves differently with audio objects only.
Al, there is your solution. Just put the audio on track 5. Adjusting photo lengths will not affect the audio objects on track 5, only objects, including audio on other tracks.
As I mentioned, I tested changing photo lengths in MEP2015 and now MMS2024 and change photo length works the same way and always has.
After sleeping on it, I found further evidence that the program has to work this way. If you have any grouped objects or collages along the timeline and you change a photo length before these, then the group has to move as does the collage objects (also grouped). If you have an overlay that is not grouped on one of the tracks to the immediate left of a group and then change a photo length at the left, if everything did not move to the left then the groupings would go askew or, if not, they would move over objects to the left on other tracks. So, everything has to move...except audio on track 5.
Note that for collages, Magix puts a placeholder on track 1 and all content on track 6 and higher, avoiding track 5.
John CB
Hi Al
My apologies, I assumed, wrongly, that by 'audio track' it would be clear I meant 'the' audio track ie track 5.
John EB
Well well well! Did I know that? It not mentioned anywhere in the documentation that I can find (no result for "Track 5" or "audio track"); in fact the online Help says:
Editing audio
In principle, any track in Movie Studio can be used as an audio track. There are no specific track types. But it's easier not to mix object types within one track.
And here I was a couple of days ago espousing, on another forum, how Magix NLEs don't care what type of object goes on what track and how simple it is/was. D'oh.
JohnCB,
if everything did not move to the left then the groupings would go askew or, if not, they would move over objects to the left on other tracks. So, everything has to move...except audio on track 5.
What you're describing is a breakdown of the fundamental grouping principles of the program. Those specific rules should only apply to the scenarios where they are needed such as collages, which I have never used.
It's illogical that, for my basic scenario (and by the looks, not an isolated one) that I can't change the photo length without totally messing up another object and completely ruining what I was trying to achieve.
Anyway, on to track 5 the audio goes. I'll be curious to see how Magix describes this in the manual.